Bakatampa Mutombo

Refugee resettlement

Iowa is now home to a large group of African refugees. The largest group
of African refugees came to Iowa from Sudan and Somalia in 1997. Another
group came from Burundi and Rwanda in 1999. And the group from the Congo
came this year.

Somalian child separated from
her family during the civil war.

According to Wayne Johnson, chief of the Bureau
of Refugee Services in Iowa, 261 Africans, mostly Sudanese, came to
Des Moines. Most of those Sudanese families have been settled in Cedar
Rapids. The number of refugees in Iowa has increased this year with more
refugees than a year before entering the United States, Johnson said.

Interviews with Africans showed that some refugees are very frustrated
when they first come to to Iowa. Some lost their parents during political
wars in their home country, some lost everything they had, and some left
their home country with only the clothes on their backs and didn't bring
anything with them. Most don't want to go back to their homeland.

Some families have been separated from each other, and children are left
to fend for themselves. Many young children have been orphaned or separated
from their families during civil war in Africa. The government soldiers
and rebels shoot at people. Everybody ran his own way. Parents, if they
were not killed, ran one way; and children another. They fled to a neighboring
country where they were put into a refugee camp.

Now, refugees see Iowa where they live, as their home. I believe that
if they were to go back to their home country, they would be going into
a distressed area.

Congolese refugees with no shelters in
their home country.Congolese refugees
with no shelters in their home country.

Political wars and ethnic conflicts have increased the number of people
trying to flee Africa. In countries such as the Congo,Rwanda and Burundi
blood has flowed on lands now threatened by human suffering. Political
and ethnic wars left thousands of people without shelters or homes in
these countries.

Many refugees continue to leave their home countries to go somewhere
in the world for security. Most often in the first country of asylum,
there are no solutions to the refugees' problems because the number of
asylum seekers is always growing. This causes an economic crisis in many
African countries.

Resettlement in a third country such as the the United States remains
the last permanent solution of refugee situations. Refugees need help
to get information, learn about American culture and how to get a job
when they come to America.

"We send send refugees to work two months after their arrival to
maintain our philosophy of placing them into jobs to become self-sufficient
as quick as possible and get them off of public assistance," said
Johnson. Lack of English will not prevent them from working, but they
will learn more English to progress to a better job.

He indicated that the number of refugees on the welfare program is too
low because most of them want to work soon after arrival in their new
communities.He said that financial and medical assistance are available
only for a limited period of time to help those who need services before
placement in new jobs.

Statistics as of Oct. 1, 1999 show that only 290 out 20,000 refugees
in Iowa are on welfare receiving Family Investisment Program (FIP) for
families with children. "We want them to maintain their customs and
cultures," said Johnson. He also indicated that the Bureau of Refugees
expects them to learn the American culture to become part of the American
community.

Melyssa Wyers, director of the
U.S. Committee for Refugees in Washington DC, said that refugees need
special help because they come to America without anything and they have
to start new lives. Success in resettlement depends as much on attitude
and efforts as on thethe type of help they receive.

Wyers said that refugees are eligible for food stamps, cash and medical
assistance; however, such government public assistance depends on how
each state makes decisions.

According to Kris Millsap, Lutheran
Social Service Refugees supervisor, resettlement is a permanent decision
for refugees. She said that during the first weeks, her office helps refugees
to find a place to live, along with necessary furnishings, learn how to
shop in American stores and enroll children in school.

Millsap said that in the United States great value is placed on being
employed. It is essential for refugees to develop a positive attitude
and demonstrate that they are ready to go to work because they will be
completing with others for the same jobs.

Refugees have the same employment rights as every American. However,
some jobs with the Federal government are open only to American citizens.

Resettlement is the first step to becoming a permanent resident and a
citizen of the United States. After one year, a refugee is eligible to
apply for a lawful permanent residency and receive a "green card."
Then, the person will be eligible to apply for American citizenship five
years after the date of admission to the United States. Once refugees
become citizens, they can vote and travel abroad with few restrictions.
They may request a reunion in the United States with parents, children
and family members, according to the U.S.Department
of States, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.